Have you ever took a dare where you tried not to talk for a certain amount of time? It is INCREDIBLY difficult, and could you imagine how boring our show would be if we didn’t talk? It’s an audio medium! But what if you had to in order to simply survive?
“A Quiet Place” is the new film directed by and stars John Krasinski (The Office, Something Borrowed). Co-starring his wife Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, The Devil Wears Prada) along with Noah Jupe (Wonder, The Titan), Millicent Simmonds (Wonderstruck, Tria33), Leon Russom (True Grit, The Big Lebowski), and Cade Woodward (who is making his acting debut), it takes place in a society where most of humanity is wiped out two months after creatures arrive on Earth. Humans were not able to figure out any physical weaknesses, but the creatures are blind. This also gives them an incredible sense of hearing and speed, and if they hear you and find you, it’s over. Because of this, the family at the center of the story: Lee (Krasinski), the mother Evelyn (Blunt), and the 2 kids Marcus (Jupe) and Regan (Simmonds) have learned cope by using sign language, covering all walkways in sand and always walking barefoot. They have a major issue when Evelyn gets pregnant, as they have to figure out how to soundproof an infant. What follows is the family trying to survive while finding a way to stop the creatures.
Most of the film takes place where they live in their farm in Middle America, showing their difficulties well. The creatures were CGI of course, but they were done well. The look fit the mood of the film well. Given the nature of the story, the acting is done very well. There are only two scenes where there was dialogue with the rest of the communication is done through sign language (note: Millicent Simmonds is actually deaf), and I was impressed how the cast conveyed a lot through their body language.
This film has a ton of suspense, and it is done right with scenes that made me jump and kept me on the edge of the seat. One thing I loved is how most of the theater reacted the same way to the suspenseful moments that I did including moments where it was so quiet (no pun intended), I could a pin drop. Yes, there is a suspension of disbelief in this film, but nothing real outrageous. I loved the ingenuity this film uses, and it totally exceeded my expectations. This film is not for the young kids, but I will definitely recommend it and give it the coveted full price in the theaters recommendation.